The Palm Springs City Council can take the best action for residents in its coming special meeting by delaying final adoption of a new development deal for what has been touted as the future crowning jewel of the new downtown — the Virgin Hotel.

We’ve expressed strong support for the Virgin Hotel plan, so our hesitation isn’t based on any concerns that it wouldn’t be anything but a great new piece of reworked city center. But the somewhat mysteriously conjured, and potentially disastrous, council move to cement this new deal asks the city to give up too much in case legal troubles surface later.

Some council members appear to be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory here. Just as Palm Springs is excited about the opening of the new Kimpton/Rowan hotel, this murky political maneuver will only reinforce the perception in many peoples' minds that the entire project was built on backroom deals.

As explained in a frontpage story by The Desert Sun’s Corinne S. Kennedy, the council voted 3-2 on Nov. 15 in favor of the deal. It wasn’t made clear until the time of the meeting, however, that the pact would prevent the city from seeking the return of tens of millions in related transient occupancy tax rebates granted to the project as an incentive if developer John Wessman is convicted of bribery in the public corruption case.

Wessman, former Mayor Steve Pougnet and developer Richard Meaney face trial on charges of bribery, conflict of interest and conspiracy connected with many of the transactions in the downtown revitalization project. Officials, as well as critics of the downtown project, have expressed concerns that convictions in the case could unravel much of the $400 million revitalization by invalidating underlying contracts under a state law known as Section 1090.

City Hall has said Section 1090 could protect taxpayer investment in the project by allowing for legal remedies to recoup incentives such as the TOT rebates if wrongdoing is proven. It therefore is curious that outgoing Council Members Ginny Foat and Chris Mills and Mayor Rob Moon are willing to vote away the city’s 1090 legal rights under this new deal.

Foat, Mills and Moon insist that since it is this current council that has been involved in the Virgin project, they see a 1090 violation finding as unlikely. Therefore, they say, there is no reason that this council shouldn’t approve this new deal.

It appears that Foat and Mills are eager to cement their legacies by locking in this Virgin gem at a special Nov. 29 meeting as they prepare to leave the council. The potential price to the city is much too high, however.

Here’s why:

The council seems to have taken extreme steps here to get this done quickly before new members Lisa Middleton and Christy Holstege take their seats in December. Typically, council meetings have been cancelled in the period between the November election and the December swearing of new members, avoiding the need for any extraordinary actions to be taken by a lame duck council.

This deal certainly seems extraordinary.

In addition, how this matter was developed by the council is troubling and Council Members Geoff Kors J.R. Roberts were right to try to slow it down with their “no” votes.

As has been noted by Kors and two members of the city’s transparency and governmental reform task force, the lack of detailed notice before the closed session discussion and then the initial vote by the council appears to have violated both the state’s Brown Act and the city’s own transparency policies.

Developer Michael Braun has said the Virgin Hotel won't get built without the kind of agreement now being rushed through by the outgoing council members. But if Braun can't secure financing for the Virgin Hotel that's on him.

Braun has said he envisions potential apartment towers on the site as well as condos or townhouses. If he can find the money for that he can find the money to build the hotel he promised to the taxpayers. Those taxpayers have already put more than $48 million of public money into the downtown project, not to the mention the potential tens of millions in TOT rebates for the new Kimpton.

Braun might remember that before making new threats to not keep his commitment to Palm Springs.

The council should delay further action on the Virgin deal until after its new members are seated and the newly formed body can conduct a thorough, open review of the details and determine how best to protect the interests of the city and its residents.

Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, far right, and developer Richard Meaney, second from left, break ground along with other developers and city leaders on September 23, 2010, at the site of the Morrison, a new home development in Palm Springs, at Alejo and Avenida Cabelleros. Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun

Boxer Tim Bradley Jr. unveils his star, the 377th on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, with Robert Alexander, the president of Palm Springs Walk of Stars, and Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, on Saturday, December 6, 2014 in Palm Springs. Richard Lui/The Desert Sun

Palm Springs City Manager David Ready, left, and Mayor Steve Pougnet, right, arrive at the Palm Springs Convention Center for the Public Remembrance Ceremony of Richard M. Milanovich, the longtime chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, on Wednesday, March 21, 2012. Richard Lui/The Desert Sun

John Wessman, Patrick Mundt, Adam Beach, and Jeff Grubbe at the Palm Springs International Film Festival closing night party held at the Spa Resort and Casino on Sunday night, January 14, 2007, in Palm Springs. Marilyn Chung, The Desert Sun

John Wessman, left, and Michael Braun, senior vice president of Wessman Development, study a design for the Desert Fashion Plaza at the Community Workshop #3 on February 9, 2011, at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Desert Sun file photo

From left, Peter Karpinski, co-founder of Arrive Hotels and Resorts, joined Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, Councilwoman Ginny Foat and other city and elected officials to break ground in September 2013 at the site of the new hotel. Skip Descant/The Desert Sun